Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the President of the Republican People’s Party, called for securing parliamentary immunity to protect the deputies in the Turkish parliament. He pointed out that this immunity has become of great importance in light of the absence of independent politicized judiciary.
Kılıçdaroğlu says that immunity of MPs cannot be linked to one person as that would be completely contrary to the national will.
“If parliamentary immunity is lifted, it will narrow the political field. You are giving up democracy in order to make a correct decision on immunities. There must be judicial independence,” he added.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s statements coincide with AKP government’s initiation of measures to lift the parliamentary immunity of some opposition MPs, most of whom belong to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) loyal to the Kurdish movements.
In the same context, Kılıçdaroğlu criticized what he described as the “deteriorating independence of the judiciary” in Turkey.
He also indicated that parliamentary immunity has become necessary for all politicians to be able to perform their duties in line with the authority granted to them by the people.
It is noteworthy that Ali Babacan, the former Turkish Minister of Economy and leader of the opposition Democracy and Progress Party, launched an attack a few days ago against his former ally, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan the Turkish President, calling on him to stop attacking everyone and calling them traitors.
Babacan also called on the government of justice and development to focus on the real issues instead of trying to manipulate domestic politics.
“There are rumors that it was our party’s statements that informed the president about the real state of the general budget during the term of former Finance Minister Berat Albayrak,” this is what Babacan added.
